Rotating station for reels

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for changing the winding-off direction of reels (W,W 1 ) which are delivered in succession by a delivery station ( 1 ) in order to form a reel group (WG) in which the front faces of adjacent reels (W) are equally spaced (a) and the longitudinal axes (LA) of the reels (W) are in a line. In practice, it is sometimes necessary to arrange the preparation machine for producing a reel (W) in such a way in relation to the combing machine group being used that the reels that are delivered by the preparation machine have a different winding-off direction in the ejected winding-off direction to that necessary for the subsequent combing machine. It is therefore necessary to rotate the reels (e.g. 90° or 180°) while preserving the division of the reel group. To this end, the reels (w) that are delivered by the delivery station ( 1 ) (W) are gradually shifted crosswise to their direction of delivery by a receiving element ( 41, 42 ) of a rotating device ( 30 ), by which means they come to lie in a plane in which the longitudinal axis (LA) of the reel (W) lies, are rotated and can then be moved out of the area of the receiving element ( 42 ) in the direction of its longitudinal axis (LA).

The invention relates to a method for changing the unwinding directionof wound laps supplied temporally successively from a delivery stationin order to form a group of wound laps in which the face sides ofadjacent wound laps have the same distance and the longitudinal axes ofthe wound laps are disposed in one line. The invention similarly relatesto apparatuses for rotating a wound lap in a plane transversally to itslongitudinal axis, with the respective apparatus being provided with arotational shaft.

The wound laps (e.g. lap rolls) which are produced in a preparatorymachine are produced by winding a web on an empty bobbin and are thenejected from the preparatory machine by producing a breaking.

In order to supply the preparatory machine with textile material (e.g.slivers) several rows are provided to the feed table of the preparatorymachines. These cans are filled by draw frames which are providedupstream of the preparatory machines and thereafter moved by way ofconveying systems or by hand to the feed table of the preparatorymachine.

In order to keep the paths of transport small and to thus minimize thetime applied for the transport of the cans, the preparatory machine, orits feed table respectively, must be associated with the can parkingplaces in accordance with the upstream machines (draw frames).

In order to transfer the wound laps which are produced in thepreparatory machine in a group via a transport system to downstreamcombing machines, the wound laps ejected by the preparatory machine arereceived by a conveying device and compiled step by step into a group ofwound laps, with adjacent wound laps being disposed at a similardistance from one another. Such a device is shown for example inJP-52-25 125, with the wound laps supplied by the preparatory machinebeing discharged transversally to the delivery place via a conveyor beltand being compiled into a group of wound laps. This group is thentransferred by means of a conveying system which is guided on a cranewayto the respective combing machine. A similar device is disclosed inDE-197 20 545.3.

In the aforementioned embodiments, the group of wound laps which iscompiled in the preparatory machine is received by a transport systemand deposited close to the respective combing machine, with the ends ofthe wound web being aligned in such a way that the wound laps areprovided in the desired unwinding direction.

In order to adapt the flow of material within the spinning millaccording to the local conditions, it may occur that the adjacent row ofcombing machines is disposed offset by 90° or 180° to the provided groupof wound laps with respect to the aforementioned embodiments. In thiscase the end of the wound lap would face in the wrong directionfollowing the transfer of the wound lap in the aforementioned manner andthe wound lap would be present offset by 90°. This means that theunwinding direction of the wound laps placed on the combing machinewould be facing opposite to the desired unwinding direction and thewound laps would therefore not be present in the desired unwindingdirection.

In this case it is necessary to turn the wound laps in a plane of itsmiddle axis in order to obtain the desired unwinding direction.

An apparatus is known from JP-54-8184, with the wound lap which isejected by the preparatory machine being transferred to a trough platewhich is in connection with a rotating and lifting device. In thisdevice the trough plate is made to rotate by means of an angular gear,with a lifting movement being produced simultaneously with the help of acrank guide. As soon as the wound lap has been twisted (which in thiscase is 90° in the horizontal direction), it can be received by thegrasping arms of a conveying system.

The arrangement shown is highly complex and is not suitable to form agroup of wound laps with respectively aligned lap ends.

A device is known from EP-A2-406 923, with an apparatus being providedin order to change the orientation of thread packages. This device isalso highly complex and not provided or suitable to produce an evengroup of wound laps.

The arrangement shown is highly complex and is not suitable to form agroup of wound laps with respectively aligned lap ends.

A device is known from EP-A2-406 923, with an apparatus being providedin order to change the orientation of thread packages. This device isalso highly complex and not provided or suitable to produce an evengroup of wound laps.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method andan apparatus which allows changing the orientation of the lap ends afterdelivery from a preparatory machine, with the subsequent formation of aregular group of wound laps for transfer to a downstream conveyingsystem being ensured.

This object is achieved on the one hand by a method, with the wound lapswhich are supplied by the delivery station are turned by at least 90° ina plane in which the longitudinal axis of the wound lap is disposed andwith the laps being displaced thereafter step-by-step in the directionof their longitudinal axes.

It is further proposed to displace the wound laps supplied by thedelivery station step-by-step transversally to their direction ofdelivery by way of a receiver in a rotating apparatus, by means of whichthey are rotated by 180° in a plane in which the longitudinal axis ofthe wound lap is disposed and the wound laps are thereafter displacedfrom the zone of the receiver in the direction of their longitudinalaxis.

This allows changing the orientation of the unwinding direction bymaintaining the horizontal direction of conveyance for the formation ofthe group of wound laps. Moreover, said horizontal direction ofconversion can be used simultaneously to slide the wound laps directlyon to the rotating apparatus.

In order to protect the outermost layer of the wound lap it is furtherproposed that the wound laps are moved before and after the rotatingprocess transversally to their longitudinal axes. This means that thewound laps are lifted off of their conveying device prior to therotating process and thereafter inserted again.

The invention is further achieved by an apparatus, with means beingprovided in order to intermittently displace the wound laps which aredelivered by the delivery station in intervals transversally to thedelivery direction in order to form a group of wound laps in which theface sides of adjacent wound laps are provided with a similar distanceand the longitudinal axes of the wound laps are disposed in one line andthe apparatus for rotating the wound laps projects at least partly inthe displacement zone of the wound laps and is provided with at leasttwo receiving means which face in the opposite direction.

This apparatus allows supplying the wound laps during their stepwisetransport movement directly to the rotating device and to grasp the sameby said device in order to change the orientation of the unwindingdirection.

The means for the stepwise displacement can consist of a conveyor beltwhich is driven by way of a controlled drive. This ensures that on theone hand there are no collisions during the transport of the wound lapsand on the other hand an exactly aligned group of wound laps is providedfor transfer to a conveying system.

It is preferably proposed to provide the rotating apparatus with alifting device.

In order to limit the transversal conveying device to provide a group ofwound laps to the required amount and to maintain the lateral distancesbetween the wound laps in the group of wound laps, it is proposed thatthe smallest distance between the rotational shaft of the apparatus andthe face side of the would lap pushed completely onto the receivingmeans corresponds to half the distance between the face sides ofadjacent wound laps within the group.

It is preferably proposed that the rotating apparatus rotates the woundlap by 180′ and moves it by an angular division, as seen in thedirection of displacement of the wound laps, according to thepredetermined distances of adjacent wound laps within the group.

In order to ensure the positioning of the wound lap during the rotatingmovement on the rotating apparatus it is proposed that the receivingmeans are provided at least partly with a non-slip cover.

An apparatus is further proposed for achieving the object in accordancewith the invention, with the approximately vertically aligned rotationalshaft of the receiver being disposed outside of the bearing surface ofthe wound lap in order to transfer the wound lap to a transfer positionfrom which it is supplied by transfer means to a subsequent means forproducing a group of wound laps in which the face sides of adjacent lapshave the same distance and whose longitudinal axes are disposed in oneline.

A further embodiment of the invention is proposed, with the rotationalshaft of the receiver being arranged, as seen from the deliverydirection of the wound lap from the delivery station, to the right orleft outside of the zone which is disposed between the vertical planesin which the face sides of the wound lap are disposed. This arrangementprovides a constructionally simple possibility of transfer of the woundlap receiver to a delivery position to a downstream means for forming agroup of wound laps.

A method is further claimed according to the main claim, with the woundlaps supplied by the delivery station being received by a rotatingapparatus and being transferred in the horizontal direction to adownstream longitudinal conveyor, with the wound laps being rotatedduring their horizontal movement or directly before the delivery to thelongitudinal conveyor about an angle in a plane in which thelongitudinal axis of the respective wound lap is disposed.

This apparatus allows attaching the storage trough of the preparatorymachine in a fixed manner and to perform the transfer to a downstreamlongitudinal conveyor with the rotating apparatus. This allows a simpleconstructional design. This means that the rotating apparatus alsoassumes the task of the transport of the wound laps in addition to therotation of the wound lap.

In order to protect the wound lap, and its outermost layer inparticular, it is proposed to vertically move the wound lap before andafter the rotating process, so that it rests freely in the rotatingapparatus after the rotating and conveying process.

In order to obtain a certain assignment to the downstream combingmachines it is proposed to rotate the wound laps by 90°. In this way thedownstream combing machines can be arranged in their longitudinaldirection parallel to the direction of ejection of the preparatorymachine, which in a number of cases is very advantageous for thedownstream flow of material.

The invention is also achieved by an apparatus, with said apparatusbeing held horizontally displaceable in a guide element for rotation ofthe wound lap about a vertical rotational shaft and being provided withat least one receiving means for receiving a wound lap which has beensupplied by a preparatory machine. The receiving means is fixedlyconnected with the rotational shaft of the apparatus in order totransfer the received wound lap to a downstream means for producing agroup of wound laps.

It is preferably proposed that the apparatus turns the wound lap byapprox. 90° and the means for forming the group of wound laps isarranged in such a way that the direction of displacement of the woundlaps or the longitudinal direction of the means is aligned approximatelyparallel to the delivery direction of the delivery station.

It is further proposed that the apparatus is provided with at least fourreceiving means which project outwardly from its rotational shaft, withat least two of the receiving means being disposed in one line. It ispossible with this cross-shaped arrangement of the receiving means torotate the rotational shaft of the apparatus in only one rotationaldirection, thus enabling a substantial simplification of the rotationaldrive. It is thus no longer necessary to perform a reversing movement inorder to again receive a subsequent wound lap provided by thepreparatory machine. In this arrangement it is also advantageous toprovide the receiving means with a non-slip layer in order to preventany slippage of the wound lap during the transport.

Further advantages of the invention are explained in closer detail byreference to the enclosed embodiments, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of a combing section of a spinningmill.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged side view X according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a side view according to FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of a combing section of a spinningmill according to FIG. 1 with a further embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a partial view according to FIG. 4 with a furtherembodiment.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic partial view of a top view of a combing section(FIG. 4) in the delivery zone of the preparatory machine.

FIG. 7 shows a side view X according to FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment according to FIG. 3 on an enlargedscale.

FIG. 1 shows a combing section of a spinning mill with a preparatorymachine 1 on which lap rolls W (hereinafter referred to as wound laps)are produced. The preparatory machine 1 is provided with a feed table 2to which rows of cans K11 and K12 are assigned. The slivers withdrawnfrom the cans are supplied to drafting arrangements (not shown) anddrafted into nonwovens. The nonwovens are placed on top of one anotheron the feed table 2 and supplied jointly to a winding apparatus 4 (FIG.2). Before the web 6 thus produced is supplied to the winding apparatus4, it is guided through calender rollers (not shown in closer detail).The wound lap W produced in the winding apparatus 4 through lap rollers7 and 8 is ejected backwardly by means of a needle 10. During thisprocess the web 6 is severed, with the end E placing itself on the outercircumference of the wound lap. During the ejection process in thedirection of the arrow, the wound lap W is transferred to a trough 15,of a conveyor belt 14 which is a part of a transverse conveying device12.

The wound laps W which are placed on the conveyor belt 14 are displacedstep-by-step in the direction of the arrow and combined into a group ofwound laps WG. The cross conveyor 12 extends into the zone of movementof a displacement bridge 20 which is guided overhead on rails 21 and 22.The rails 21 and 22 rest on the floor on schematically shown beams T. Asis indicated by a double arrow, the displacement bridge 20 can movealong rails 21 and 22 in both directions and is driven by a drive source(not shown in closer detail) which on its part is controlled by acontrol apparatus which is schematically shown in FIG. 3.

Combing machines K1 to K5 are arranged in a row behind one anotherparallel to the cross conveyors 12, which combing machines are alsodriven over by the displacement bridge 20. The individual combingmachines K1 to K5 are provided with swivellable troughs 24 on which resta group of eight reserve wound laps RW on standby for follow-up to aworking position AP.

As is shown in FIG. 2 in particular, the wound laps W are wound up on atube H which is provided with clearance DL.

As is shown schematically in FIG. 2, a height-adjustable gripper beam 26is attached to the displacement bridge 20, which gripper beam isprovided with individual gripper arms 27 which can be swivelled into theclearance DL of tubes H for receiving the wound laps.

The slivers which are produced in the individual combing heads (usuallyeight) of the combing machines are transferred in the direction of thearrow to a drafting arrangement (not shown) of the individual combingmachine and joined into a combed sliver which is deposited inschematically shown cans K. The cans K are ejected after filling andtransferred by hand or a conveying device for further processing todownstream machines schematically shown in the direction of the arrow.

The placement of the combing machines to the preparatory machine 1 asshown in FIG. 1 can be obtained by respective requirements in thematerial supply and discharge.

The choice of this placement leads to the consequence that the unwindingdirection of the wound lap W as ejected by the preparatory machine withrespect to the downstream further conveyance to the combing machines K1to K5 is present in the wrong direction. This is shown in particular inFIG. 2. The wound lap W which is ejected to trough 15 shows a clockwiseunwinding direction, whereas the backup wound lap RW which rests ontrough 24 requires an anti-clockwise unwinding direction. This is shownin particular in the illustration of the wound lap which is situated inthe working position AP. It is therefore necessary that the wound laps Wwhich are supplied by the preparatory machine 1 are rotated by 180°prior to being received by the displacement bridge 20. This occurs in arotating station 30 which will be explained in closer detail byreference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The rotating station 30 is provided with aframe 32 which rests on the floor and is fastened there. A cylinder 33is fastened to frame 32 whose piston rod 34 is fastened to a gearbox 36.A motor M is flange-mounted on the gearbox 36, which motor M drives atransmission stage (not shown in closer detail) within the gearboxcasing 36. A drive element of said gear stage is torsionally rigidlyconnected with a shaft 38 which is rotatably held in pipe 40. The pipe40 is torsionally rigidly flange-mounted on the gearbox casing 36 and isguided in the vertical direction in the frame 32. Two receivers 41 and42 which face in opposite directions are fastened to the lower end ofshaft 38. The receivers 41 and 42 can be arranged as shafts which areprovided with a non-slip layer for example so that the wound lapsreceived from the respective receiver maintain their position during therotation. The distance b from the middle axle DA of the rotating station30 to the face side of the wound lap W1 corresponds to half the distancea between the adjacent wound laps of a group of wound laps WG. Theconsequence is that the wound lap W1, following the performed rotatingprocess by 180° to the position as shown in the dot-dash line, ispositioned in such a way that the distance a to the previously rotatedwound lap W4 is maintained.

As is shown schematically, the empty tubes H are conveyed back to thepreparatory machine 1 on the inner strand of the conveyor belt 14. Adetailed description of this device is explained for example in

-   DE-A1-197 20 545.3.

The mode of operation of the rotating device 30 is explained in closerdetail below:

As is shown schematically, the empty tubes H are conveyed back to thepreparatory machine 1 on the inner strand of the conveyor belt 14. Adetailed description of this device is explained for example in

-   DE-A1-197 20 545.3.

The mode of operation of the rotating device 30 is explained in closerdetail below.

The wound lap W as ejected by the preparatory machine 1 reaches thewinding position W1 by means of stepwise displacement in the directionof the arrow of conveyor belt 14, with the tube H sliding with itsclearance DL over the free end of receiver 41 during said displacement.Once the position has been reached (which is controlled via the pitchadvancement), the intermittent movement of the conveyor belt 14 isinterrupted. The cylinder 33 is now actuated by a schematically showncontrol device S and displaces its piston rod 34 in the verticaldirection by a predetermined amount. By a respective connection, thegearbox casing 36 and the pipe 40 are lifted with the shaft 38.Simultaneously, the receivers 41 and 42 are also displaced upwardly inthe vertical direction, as a result of which the receiver 41 comes torest on the inner surface of tube H. In the case of a further verticaldisplacement the wound lap W1 is lifted off of the conveyor belt 14.After reaching the height indicated with a dot-dash line, the motor M isactivated by the control unit S and places the gear within the gearboxcasing 36 in motion. As a result, shaft 38 and thus also the receivers41 and 42 are turned in a horizontal plane until a rotational angle of180° is reached and the wound lap W1 is situated in the winding positionW3. Once this position has been reached, the motor M is stopped againand the cylinder 33 is activated by the control unit S. As a result, thepiston rod 34 is moved downwardly again, with receiver 41 alsoperforming a downward vertical displacement. This displacement is madeuntil the position as shown in FIG. 3 is reached, with the wound lap W3resting completely on the conveyor belt 14 and the receiver 41 no longerhaving any contact with the inner surface of the tube. After performingthis rotational process the end of the wound lap is now in the correctunwinding direction for the downstream combining machines. The windingplace W1 is empty again and ready for subsequent receiving. Once a newwound lap W has been supplied again by the preparatory machine 1 to theconveyor belt 14, it is displaced again step-by-step by a windingdivision until the new wound lap is disposed in the winding position W1again. As a result of this stepwise movement the previously rotatedwound lap W3 is displaced to the winding position W4, as a result ofwhich receiver 42 can rotate freely again in order to transfer adownstream wound lap W1 to the winding position W3. Once a completegroup of wound laps WG is located in the zone of the receiver bygrippers 26 of the displacement bridge 20, a complete group can bereceived for follow-up to the combing machine K4 for example.

The device proposed herein allows a simple and careful rotation of thewound lap, with the transversal displacement of the wound lap beingdirectly included simultaneously.

FIG. 4 shows a further installation, with the wound laps RW, which arein reserve in the combing machines, are present offset by 90° to thewound lap W which is ejected from the preparatory machine 1 to areceiving trough 50. This machine line-up can also be obtained by arespective arrangement of the machines which are upstream and downstreamof this process stage. The same elements which were described in FIG. 1are provided with the same reference numerals in FIG. 4 so that the sameneed not be explained any further.

Only two downstream combing machines K1 and K2 are shown in FIG. 4. Inpractice, however, at least six combing machines are downstream of apreparatory machine. To ensure that the unwinding direction of the woundlaps is correctly provided to the combing machines, a verticalrotational shaft 52 is provided through which the trough 50 with thewound lap W is transferred by arm 54 to a transfer location US (shownwith the broken line) by means of arm 54. This swivelling movement ismarked with a double arrow.

Once the place of deposit is free on the conveyor belt 14 of thedownstream cross conveyor 12 which is opposite of the transfer place US,the wound lap W is transferred by way of a pin 56 (e.g. a cylinder) tothe conveyor belt 14. Stops (not shown) can be provided in the zone ofthe conveyor belt 14 on the cross conveyor 12 in order to limit therolling path of the wound lap, so that it will come to lie securely onthe conveyor belt.

In the present case a complete group of wound laps WG is present on thecross conveyor 12 for transfer to the displacement bridge 20 and fortransfer to a downstream combing machine which reports a demand forwound laps. Once the group of wound laps WG has been removed by thecrane bridge 20, the stepwise conveyance of the wound laps W supplied tothe conveyor belt 14 for the purpose of the formation of a new group ofwound laps WG can be continued, as was already explained above

FIG. 5 shows a partial sectional view of an installation. As in theexample of FIG. 4 the wound laps are present in the combing machine K1 .. . K2 offset by 90° on the delivery trough 50 of the preparatorymachine 1. Furthermore, the combing machines are lined up offset by 180°as compared with the preceding example, so that the winding progressoccurs on the downstream combing machines in the opposite direction.This means that the wound lap W must be turned by 90° and the unwindingdirection must be turned by 180° as compared with the solution shown inFIG. 4.

For this purpose trough 50 is swivellable about a rotational shaft 58,as is shown with the double arrow. Moreover, the unwinding direction isreversed. The transfer to the conveyor belt 14 of a downstream crossconveyor 12 is also performed in this case by means of a pin 56, as hasbeen explained in the preceding example.

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment, with the wound lap W which is ejectedfrom the preparatory machine 1 being supplied to trough 50. In contrastto the example of FIGS. 4 and 5, the trough 50 is immovably attached. Across conveying device 12 is arranged parallel and adjacent to thetrough 50, with the device having a conveyor belt 14 in order to form agroup of wound laps WG (as described above) for a downstream conveyingsystem (not shown).

In the zone of the transfer between the trough 50 and the shown end ofthe cross conveyor 12, a rotating station 60 is arranged which is shownin particular in the enlarged side view X of FIG. 7.

The rotating station 60 consists of a frame 72 which rests on the floor.Guide rails 70 are attached to the upper end of the frame 72 on eitherside, which rails extend transversally to the conveying direction of thecross conveyor 12 and the direction of ejection of the preparatorymachine.

Wheels 69 of a carriage 68 run in said guide rails 72. The actualrotating apparatus for the wound laps is rotatably held in saidcarriage. Carriage 68 is associated with a displacement apparatus whichis attached to the frame which is not shown for reasons of clarity ofthe illustration. Said displacement apparatus could consist of acylinder for example which acts on the one hand on the frame 72 and onthe other hand on carriage 68 in order to perform the horizontaldisplacement as indicated with the double arrow.

The rotating apparatus consists of a cylinder 65 which is rotatably held(see double arrow) in the carriage 68. The rotational movement of thecylinder 65 is performed by a schematically shown drive 66 which isfastened above the carriage. The cylinder is provided in the shownexample with a piston rod 62 which is also designated as a rotatingshaft about which the wound lap W is rotated.

A horizontally aligned receiver 63 is attached at the end of therotational shaft 62, which receiver projects in the shown example intothe free space of the tube of the wound lap W resting on trough 50.

As is shown in FIG. 6, sensors S1 and S2 are applied in the zone of thetrough 50 and in the end zone of the cross conveyor 12 in order tomonitor the presence of a wound lap W or W′.

FIG. 7 further shows a drive 75 which drives the deflection pulley 77 ofbelt 14 via the drive connection 76. The deflection pulley 77 is held inthe frame 78 which rests on the floor.

The drive 75 is controlled through the control unit S which alsocontrols the preparatory machine 1 and the movements of the rotatingapparatus 60. The signals S1 and S2 are sent to the control unit S forevaluation.

Based on the position A (FIG. 6) of the rotational shaft 62, the mode ofoperation of the apparatus is described below:

The control unit S is reported by sensors S2 that no wound lap W′ islocated any more at the transfer location (shown with the broken line).The wound lap W is lifted by cylinder 65 by means of receiver 63 by acertain amount, so that it no longer rests on trough 50. Thereaftercarriage 68, and thus the receiver 63, is displaced to position B by adisplacement element (not shown). The rotation of the wound lap by 90°(see double arrow) occurs thereafter by means of the rotational drive 65and the rotatably held cylinder 65. The wound lap is now lowered bymeans of cylinder 65 until it rests on the conveyor belt 14. This isthen reported by sensor S2 to the control unit S. Once this process iscompleted, the control unit sends a signal to the drive 75 which puts inmotion the deflection pulley 77 and thus the conveyor belt 14 in thedirection of the arrow until the new wound lap has been displaced by arespective winding division and sensor S2 reports again that thereceiving place on the conveyor belt is once again free. In order tomonitor the precise winding movements on the conveyor belt there arefurther sensors (not shown). During this displacement of the new woundlap via the conveyor belt, the receiver 63 has become free again, as aresult of which the same is swivelled back in the opposite rotationaldirection. From this position (B) the receiver 63 can be displaced viacarriage 68 to position A again once the sensor S1 reports that a newwound lap W is present on the trough 50. The described process can thusstart anew again. Once a complete group of wound laps WG is present onthe cross conveyor 12 it can be received by the conveying system (notshown).

The embodiment of FIG. 8 corresponds substantially to that of FIG. 6,with only three further receivers 63 a, 63 b and 63 c being fastened tothe rotational shaft. This device allows omitting the additionalreversing movement of the rotational shaft after the delivery of thewound lap W to the conveyor belt 14, as was necessary in theaforementioned apparatus according to FIG. 6. The other movementsequences are the same, so that they need not be described here again.

Once the wound lap W deposited on the conveyor belt 14 has been furtherconveyed by a winding division, the rotating apparatus can be displacedin this case (FIG. 8) without any further rotational movement in thedirection towards position A in order to receive a new wound lap Wthere.

With the proposed apparatuses it is possible to provide a simple andflexible adjustment to the different line-ups of the machines in thespinning room, thus always ensuring the correct feed of the wound lapsin the combing machines. This concept allows incorporating combingsections in existing plants without having to re-organize the entiremachine outfit.

1. In combination, a preparatory machine for sequentially deliveringwound laps, each wound lap having a longitudinal axis; a conveying beltdisposed transversely of said preparatory machine for sequentiallyreceiving the delivered wound laps; means for driving said conveyingbelt in stepwise manner; and means located between said preparatorymachine and said conveying belt for sequentially rotating each wound lap180° in a plane of said longitudinal axis thereof and conveying eachwound lap from said preparatory machine onto said conveying belt incoaxially equi-spaced apart relation, said latter means including arotatable shaft disposed perpendicularly of said conveying belt at oneend of said conveying belt, at least two receiving means mounted onopposite sides of said shaft, each said receiving means being positionedto engage a wound lap delivered to said conveying belt and to rotate theengaged wound lap at least 180° onto said conveying belt in response torotation of said shaft and a lifting device for raising and loweringsaid shaft relative to said conveyor belt.
 2. A method of conveyingwound laps comprising the steps of producing a series of wound laps in awinding station, each of said laps having a web wound onto a tube abouta longitudinal axis of the tube; delivering each wound lap successivelyfrom said winding station onto a conveyor belt extending in a directionparallel to said axis; sequentially lifting and rotating each wound lapdelivered to said conveyor belt 180° to reverse a winding off directionof the web on the tube thereof; thereafter depositing each wound laponto said conveyor belt after said step of rotation; thereafter drivingsaid conveyor belt in stepwise manner to space the wound laps deliveredto said conveyor belt in equi-spaced relation along said conveyor belt;and conveying the wound laps on said conveyor belt in stepwise mannerlongitudinally of said axis to a series of combing machines.
 3. A methodas set forth in claim 2 wherein each wound lap is moved transversely ofsaid axis before and after said step of rotating said wound lap.